A constituent assembly is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected by popular vote, drawn by sortition, appointed, or some combination of these methods. Assemblies are typically considered distinct from a regular legislature, although members of the legislature may compose a significant number or all of its members. As the fundamental document constituting a state, a constitution cannot normally be modified or amended by the state's normal legislative procedures in some jurisdictions; instead a constitutional convention or a constituent assembly, the rules for which are normally laid down in the constitution, must be set up. A constituent assembly is usually set up for its specific purpose, which it carries out in a relatively short time, after which the assembly is dissolved. A constituent assembly is a form of representative democracy.
The Bangladesh Awami League, simply known as Awami League, is one of the major political parties in Bangladesh. The oldest existing political party in the country, the party played the leading role in achieving the independence of Bangladesh. It is also one of the two most dominant parties in the country, along with its archrival Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
The Prime Minister of Bangladesh, officially Prime minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is the chief executive of the government of Bangladesh. The prime minister and the cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Parliament, to their political party and ultimately to the electorate. The prime minister is ceremonially appointed by the president of Bangladesh.
Sheikh Hasina is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Bangladesh from June 1996 to July 2001 and again from January 2009 to August 2024. She is the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first president of Bangladesh. She served in the position of prime minister for over 20 years, making her the longest-serving prime minister in history of Bangladesh. Thus, she has become the world's longest-serving female head of government. Her authoritarian regime ended in self-imposed exile following a series of violent protests by the students in 2024.
The Constitution of Bangladesh is the supreme law of Bangladesh. Adopted by the 'controversial' and virtually "one-party" Constituent Assembly of Bangladesh on November 4, 1972, it came into effect on December 16, 1972. The Constitution establishes Bangladesh as a unitary parliamentary republic. Directly borrowing from the four tenets of Mujibism, the political ideology of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the constitution states nationalism, socialism, democracy and secularism as its four fundamental principles.
Sajeeb Ahmed Wazed, also known as Sajeeb Wazed Joy, is a Bangladeshi businessman and politician. He is a member of the Bangladesh Awami League and served as an advisor to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on information and communication technology affairs. Sajeeb is widely known for spreading misinformation, In December 2022, three UN Special Rapporteurs criticized him for allegedly spreading misinformation.
The history of Bangladesh (1971–present) refers to the period after the independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan.
Farhad Mazhar is a Bangladeshi poet, philosopher, social and human rights activist, and environmentalist. In the aftermath of the recent mass uprising in Bangladesh, he also emerged as a vocal critic of the country's constitution. His book, Gono-ovyutthan o Gathan, has a major influence on the student leaders who led the mass uprising. He is also one of the founders and the managing director of UBINIG.
The Constituent Assembly of Bangladesh was the first and, to date, the only constitution-making body of Bangladesh, convened in 1972 by the government of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman following the country's independence. It comprised representatives elected in the national and provincial council elections of Pakistan held in 1970.
The Bangladesh protests of 2022–24 were a series of anti-government demonstrations against the administration of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Initiated by the Bangladeshi opposition parties on 10 December 2022, the protests continued spite of the government crackdowns. Though initially low-level, with instances of vandalism in late 2023, the movement gained momentum in 2024. The protests became linked to the Student–People's uprising, as both shared similar objectives related to government accountability and systemic change. In July 2024, the unrest intensified and turned into a civil disinvestment movement, ultimately leading to Hasina's resignation and eventual exile from the country.
The non-cooperation movement, also known as the one-point movement, was a pro-democratic disinvestment movement and a mass uprising against the Awami League-led government of Bangladesh, initiated within the framework of 2024 Bangladesh quota reform movement. The sole demand of this movement was the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her cabinet. It was the final stage of the wider movement known as the Student–People's uprising.
An interim government led by Muhammad Yunus was formed on 8 August 2024 in Bangladesh, following the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on 5 August 2024 amid nationwide student and public protests against the government. Following the dissolution of the 12th Jatiya Sangsad on 6 August 2024, the interim cabinet will remain in office until a new Prime Minister is appointed after a snap general election. The government, like the previous non-caretaker government interim administrations, is extra-constitutional. However, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh affirmed the legality of the stopgap government on 9 August 2024, citing the urgent need to manage state affairs and address the constitutional vacuum, similar to previous cases. The main pledge of his ministry is organize a constituent assembly to draft and adopt a new, democratic and inclusive constitution, ensuring the inviolability of human dignity.
Md Sarjis Alam is a Bangladeshi activist. He is one of the leading coordinators of the Anti-discrimination Students Movement, which led the Student–People's uprising leading to the overthrow of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government.
The leadership of Muhammad Yunus began on 8 August 2024 when he was sworn in as the Chief Adviser of Bangladesh by President Mohammed Shahabuddin. In August 2024, after the resignation of Sheikh Hasina as prime minister and her departure to India, the key coordinators of the protest announced that Yunus would be Chief Adviser of the Interim Government. The main pledge of the interim government is organize a constituent assembly to draft and adopt a new, inclusive, democratic constitution, ensuring the inviolability of human dignity.
The 2024 Bangladesh judicial coup attempt was a series of events that unfolded in August 2024, involving an alleged effort by members of the judiciary in Bangladesh to destabilize the newly formed interim government and potentially restore power to the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The Constitutional Reform Commission is a commission established by the Yunus ministry in 2024 with a purpose to prepare a report on the reasons behind past constitutional failures and to create a roadmap for holding a constituent assembly election to draft and adopt a new, inclusive, democratic constitution, ensuring the inviolability of human dignity. The commission was formed in the aftermath of a constitutional crisis triggered by the July revolution that culminated in the ousting of Sheikh Hasina on August 5, 2024.
The Student–People's uprising, also known as the July Revolution, was a pro-democratic mass uprising in Bangladesh. It began as a quota reform movement in early June 2024, led by the Anti-discrimination Students Movement, after the Bangladesh Supreme Court invalidated the government's 2018 circular regarding job quotas in the public sector. The movement escalated into a full-fledged mass uprising after the government carried out mass killings of protesters, known as July massacre, by the late of July. By early August, the movement evolved into a non-cooperation movement, ultimately leading to the ouster of the then-Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, who fled Bangladesh to India. Hasina's ouster triggered a constitutional crisis, leading to the formation of an interim government led by the country's only Nobel laureate, Muhammad Yunus, as the chief adviser.
The Jatiya Nagorik Committee is a Bangladeshi political platform. The platform was formed in the aftermath of the July Revolution with a view to building consensus on rebuilding Bangladesh as an inclusive democracy following the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5, 2024. On October 22, 2024, the Jatiya Nagorik Committee along with the Anti-Discrimination Students Movement announced a five-point demand, advocating for sweeping political and constitutional changes to dismantle what they describe as a "fascist political settlement" and replace it with a democratic one.
The Constitution of Bangladesh—since its adoption by the 'controversial' and virtually "one-party" Constituent Assembly of Bangladesh in 1972—has repeatedly come under criticism for its failure to build institutionalism in governance and politics, safeguard human rights, and ensure the independence of the judiciary and the legislature from the executive. Many denounced the Constitution for facilitating autocracy and labelled it as a "fascist constitution." The Fundamental Principles of State Policy in Part II are often dismissed as empty rhetoric due to their unjusticiability, while Fundamental Rights in Part III are constrained by extensive, imposable restrictions. The elevation of ideological principles above civil rights is commonly viewed as a defining trait of fascism. The Constitution’s ideological alignment with “Mujibism”—embodying nationalism, socialism, democracy and secularism as its four foundational pillars—has also led some to label it the “Mujibist Constitution.”
The five-point demand is a state reform manifesto jointly issued by the Anti-Discrimination Students Movement and the Jatiya Nagorik Committee in Bangladesh in October 2024, advocating for sweeping political and constitutional changes to dismantle what they describe as a "fascist political settlement" and replace it with a democratic one.
